capital metals applauded the misfortunes of sacked Sri Lanka Environment Minister Naseer Ahamed, whose expulsion from his party was upheld by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court this week.
Ahamed’s dismissal had something to do with the 2021 budget vote, which had no consequences for Capital.
All that chief executive Greg Martyr cared about was the removal of a “major obstacle” to the progress of the Sri Lankan mine developer.
Ahamed’s dismissal had something to do with the 2021 budget vote, which had no consequences for Capital
“This, together with the recently approved change to mining licensing procedures, which transfers certain responsibilities to the Board of Investment, should bode well for our situation, but also, more generally, for the country as taking steps to improve governance,” Martyr said.
Shareholders pounced on this political development, sending Capital Metals to the top of AIM’s boosters list this week.
It was the culmination of a butterfly effect that began when a Sri Lankan minister controversially voted in favor of a 2021 budget and that resulted in a 140 percent rise in the share price of a London-listed mining group two years ago. after.
AIM All-Share reacts to inflation data
The AIM All-Share Index saw a mid-week boost after a slow Monday, with investors buoyed by renewed hopes of a spike in interest rates following some satisfactory food inflation data.
Figures from market research firm Kantar showed food price inflation cooled to 11 percent during the four weeks to October 1, 2023, the lowest rate since July 2022.
Unfortunately, the US spoiled the party on Thursday, with higher-than-expected wholesale price inflation data causing stocks to cool somewhat.
AIM ultimately ended the week around 0.2 per cent lower, underperforming the bullish blue-chip FTSE 100 index which ended the week more than 1.5 per cent in the green.
Don’t resist vaping without nicotine
There’s a lot to say about vaping lately. Top distributor from last week. Supreme was left in the outbox following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s aggressive comments about alternatives to e-smoking.
On the other hand, Cold Brand Group plc has a strong showing on the AIM market this week, jumping more than 13 per cent.
The rally followed news that the group’s Chill ZERO nicotine-free vapor products will be available for sale to adult customers on Amazon’s UK site this month.
Don’t scoff at nicotine-free vapes when every pub these days seems to have a non-alcoholic beer on sale.
More winners and losers
Brandshield Systems plc is also at the top of the moving companies table.
A few weeks ago we had news that former Tesco boss Sir Terence Leavy was involved in a subscription to small cap cybersecurity shares ahead of his upcoming delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
It’s been something of a rollercoaster since then, with shares initially plunging with the delisting announcement before recovering as much as 30 percent this week.
The 5.68p open offer apparently wasn’t a bad deal after all, raising around £52,000.
Christie Group plc fell to near three-year lows as the struggling business services specialist issued a mixed trading update containing a profit warning.
The shares fell 19 per cent on Friday to 81 pence, to levels last seen in November 2020.
shares in the company Windward Ltd rose 17 per cent to 73p on Thursday after publishing a trading update informing the market of a raft of new contracts.
The company, which designs artificial intelligence solutions for the maritime industry, said in a statement today that it is now trading “comfortably” in line with market expectations.
In other parts of heavy industries, red rock resources plc was up more than 50 percent and Hummingbird Resources plc about 33 percent.
On the negative side were Zanaga Iron and Ore Co Ltd, which fell around 30 percent and Synergy Energy Ltd, which lost around 22 per cent.
But the worst performance of the week seems to be Eneraqua Technologies plc, which plummeted 60 percent.
The energy efficiency company plummeted following a profit warning after the Sunak cabinet delayed its ban on gas boilers this autumn, in a move that dealt a blow to the heat pump industry in which operates Eneraqua.
Bullish or Bearish for Esports Stocks?
Finally, a look at publicly traded esports stocks would seem to suggest a fad that has run its course.
However, the latest data shows that in the UK the sector is alive, well and growing at a decent rate. Revenue is forecast to reach $202 million this year, more than 30 percent higher than 2020 levels.
So does this put the David Beckham-backed government Guild eSports And Gfinity in bargain territory? Possibly. Certainly, current valuations do not appear to reflect the prospects for the industry, which is expected to be worth $250 million by 2025 domestically and around $1.9 billion globally, according to Statista.
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